


Just Around The Corner

by LeedlingwithRageHappy



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, joelay - Freeform, may turn into a series, practice writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 16:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5672773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeedlingwithRageHappy/pseuds/LeedlingwithRageHappy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray gets lost in London and is found by Joel. That's surely enough drama for one day, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Around The Corner

Ray was never one to admit his own mistakes. It was an embarrassment to himself and unnecessary acknowledgments that the other person was right. Especially if that person gloated because Ray knew he would never hear the end of it. However, Ray was changing his mind very quickly on that as he stared at the map supplied on a street corner stand. 

“Where the fuck…this map is doing jackshit,” Ray spoke to himself. “Just show me where Oxford Street is!” In his anger, Ray had taken to shaking the sign and alerting the attention of all those passing by. Unfortunately, instead of someone coming for help, everyone walked by even faster while Ray considered punching the map. 

“Why did I even agree to go to England? ‘Oh, great idea, Burnie! I’m sure nothing will go wrong!’” Ray imitated sarcastically as his head thudded against the sign. A part of him began to wonder if staring at the sign would show him all the answers as his hope began to slip away.

“Ray?” he heard someone ask and felt a tap on his shoulder.

Whipping his head up, Ray found himself looking wide-eyed at Joel and feeling a mixture of emotions. On the one hand he potentially had help, but on the other, he wasn’t sure if Joel had any idea what to do in the streets of London either.

“How do we get back to the hotel?” Ray blurted out and then shook his head. “Sorry, I mean, I got lost trying to meet up with Michael and Gavin, but I think I just want to go back to the hotel? If that makes sense?”

Joel nodded, squinting at the map before looking down at Ray. “Me too. Barbara mentioned something, but sleep sounds nice right now.”

A grin spread on Ray’s face and he tried to subtly gesture in a direction. “Lead the way?”

“I guess,” Joel shrugged. “I think I know where I’m going.”

Ray’s smile immediately turned into a face of dread as he stared at Joel’s back while the older man started in the direction Ray had just come from.

“Oxford Circus station, right?” Joel asked over his shoulder. 

“Yeah,” Ray nodded slowly, suddenly having a bad feeling about what was going to happen. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful for Joel’s appearance, but if that meant wandering the streets of London even longer, Ray would’ve just as much stayed in his spot, texting his friends to come find him than put his trust in Joel.

Ray did his best to look on the bright side of the situation though because at the very least, he wasn’t lost in a foreign city alone. That is until Joel started talking to himself in the very same manner Ray had been doing earlier.

“So, we need to go up this street and then we’ll come to a roundabout? Wait, where’s the roundabout?”

The older man looked back at Ray, who merely shrugged. With a shake of his head, Joel continued on with Ray obediently following, as they seemed to pass by the same block of buildings for the next half hour. It didn’t help that every time Joel was mildly confused, he’d turn to Ray for help as if he suddenly knew what to do. With each question, Ray heard his answers getting shorter and Joel’s once cheery attitude fading away.

“Maybe if…” Joel pointed to the right before shaking his head. “No, it must be the left. That’s what the map showed, I think.” 

Now, Ray was growing tired and just wanted to get back to his hotel room as quickly as possible, not to mention the hunger that had begun to grow. “You really have no idea what you’re doing, do you?” He muttered to himself, but Joel caught every word.

“Excuse me?” Joel sharply turned around. “You want to do this by yourself then?”

Ray exhaled heavily through his nose and glared at the older man, but held his tongue. The last thing he needed was to be abandoned by the one person who had offered him help in the first place. 

Letting out a, “hmph”, Joel faced whatever destination they were on and began marching off, leaving Ray no choice but to scurry on behind him. 

“It’s not my fault that you got lost, you know,” Joel started. “I could just run off right now and be fine while you’d still be trying to get your ass back to the hotel.”

“Oh, I’m sure you would just be all fine and dandy,” Ray retorted with thick sarcasm and added an eye roll for emphasis. 

This made Joel stop instantly, causing Ray to crash right into him and both pushing away from each other grumpily. Joel opened his mouth, holding his finger out at Ray, but no words came as the two were caught in a heated glare. After several mouth gapes, Joel let out a frustrated groan and paced around in front of Ray. 

“Why do you have to be such a brat?” Joel shot through gritted teeth. More words left Joel’s mouth, but it was such an incoherent bunch that Ray could only raise his eyebrows in his own irritated confusion.

“I mean, I offer you help, then you just throw it back in my face. Like, oh my god, Ray, what the fuck?” Joel’s arms went flying up and then slammed back down at his sides as he let out a cynical laugh. “It makes me wonder why I even like you! Love you, in fact!” 

Instantly, Ray’s eyes went wide and Joel stopped mid-step, his own face growing with concern. 

“What was that?” Ray asked quietly.

Joel visibly swallowed and turned his face to Ray. “Uh…it’s nothing. I was just-heat of the moment, you know?”

Ray shook his head, his mind now filling with questions. “No, I don’t know, Joel. Do you…” he paused. “Do you really like me?” 

“What happens if I say yes?” came Joel’s meek reply. 

The busy streets the two had been walking through seemed to melt away as all either man cared about was the other in that moment. 

It felt like a dream as Ray let out a hazy, “Then, you can buy me dinner,” and took a step closer to Joel, feeling himself getting lost in the brown eyes staring back at his own. 

“Deal,” Joel answered and Ray noticed a hand move towards his arm out the corner of his eye. 

“Ray! Joel! There you two are!” A voice broke through and the two men blinked at each other before stepping apart. 

“Hey, Barbara,” Ray waved as the blonde bounded over. 

“Oh, shit. I interrupted something, didn’t I?” Barbara caught on rather quickly from Joel’s disappointed look and Ray’s dull greeting. “Well, I’ll just go over here then,” she pointed to nowhere. “Hotel’s just around the corner! Everyone was worried about you guys!”

The last words came out hollered as Barbara scurried off and out of sight faster than the two men expected, leaving them in a wake of relief and bewilderment. Remembering what had been happening before Barbara’s arrival, Ray felt himself blush before tentatively turning back to Joel. 

“I guess we should…”

“Find a place to eat,” Joel helpfully supplied. 

This answer brought instant happiness to Ray, glad that this all wasn’t all a dream in his mind. He nodded gratefully and followed as Joel motioned towards a street away from the hotel. 

“I think I know just the place.”

After a few more blocks, Ray found himself sandwiched between a variety of restaurants from America and England alike along with the bustling community that came with it all.

“I hope it’s KFC,” Ray joked and looked up at Joel, who chuckled at this.

“This way,” he replied, setting off but not before grabbing Ray’s hand. 

Ray heated up at the sudden touch, though he let himself be led by Joel until they reached the entrance of a small restaurant that appeared to be family owned. It was only then that Joel dropped Ray’s hand to let him to enter first. The two were seated quickly and Ray immediately immersed himself into the menu, but as he scanned over the words, a thought from before hit him. Slowly, he set down the menu and cleared his throat to talk.

“Hey, I’m sorry about earlier. I was just cranky from being lost half the day and not eating. I know that’s not a good reason for my behavior, but…yeah.”

Ray was surprised to see Joel looking at him intently and did his best to wait for a reply.

“It’s-it’s okay,” Joel started quietly. “I mean, I lost my temper too, so I should be apologizing as well.”

The two men gave each other soft smiles until an awkward silence came.

“And, uh, to be fair…I didn’t actually know where I was going until Barbara came,” Joel mumbled as he looked to the side. 

Ray’s eyes widened instantly, but before he could say anything, Joel interjected.

“I just wanted to impress you.”

At this, Ray felt all his thoughts disappear to the point where he could only laugh at the day’s events. “God, you’re amazing, Joel,” he finally spoke. 

Joel seemed to relax after this and let out his own small laugh.

“Next time, though, you don’t have to go to that length to impress me. I already like you as you are. I have for a while, same as you.”

When those words left Ray’s mouth, he felt a huge weight lift off his mind. Between the secret glances at the office to the small talk at parties, Ray always wished to be closer to Joel but never had the confidence and also assumed that Joel didn’t like him very much. Now to have those thoughts no longer pressing at the back of his mind, Ray felt a new confidence come on.

“So, what here do you suggest, Heyman?”

Ray smiled to himself as Joel, now looking flustered, picked up the menu and began rambling off dishes to Ray. Of course, Ray was only half listening as he watched Joel all while thinking how lucky he was to have gotten himself into a position like this.


End file.
